Means for attaching prong-carrying devices to flexible material



H. H. WOOD MEANS FOR ATTACHING PRONG-CARRYING DEVICES TO FLEXIBLE MATERIAL 1956 Sept. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 18,

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IN VENTOR HERBERT HOWARD WOOD BY m i kt ATTORNEYS Sept. 5, 1961 H. H. WOOD 2,998,608

R ATTACH ES TO FL MEA F0 ING NG-CARRYING IC EXIB MATERIAL Ongmal Flled June 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HERBERT HOWARD WOOD BY GLeJw-r r K- g ATTORNEYS United States Patent r 2,998,608 MEANS FOR ATTACHING PRONG-CARRYING DEVICES T FLEXIBLE MATERIAL Herbert Howard Wood, Birmingham, England, assignor to Thomas Walker Limited, Birmingham, England, a

, British company Original application June '18, 1956, Ser. No. 592,094, now Patent No. 2,916,740, dated Dec. 15, 1959. Divided and this application Aug. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 834,910

3 Claims. (Cl. 1-325) This invention relates to an improved means for attaching devices by means of prongs or like securing parts (including eyelets) to flexible material, in cases where the latter is formed as a sleeve or pocket, and is especially applicable to the attachment of prong-attached fastening devices to the Waistbands of trousers or other garments. The present application is a division of my co-pending application, Serial No. 592,094, filed June 18, 1956, now Patent No. 2,916,740, issued December 15, 1959.

Such waistbands are usually made with two thicknesses of cloth in the form of a closed-ended sleeve or pocket, and the counterpart components of a two-part releasable fastening device, such as a hook engageable with an eye or staple, or slidably-engageable parts, are attached to the outside of the respective ends of the waistband by providing the said fastening components with prongs which, by means of a suitable press, are passed through the one wall of the sleeve or pocket and clenched or bent over, usually on to a back-plate Within the sleeve or pocket.

Heretofore, it has been necessary, for clenching the prongs in a press, to expose both sides of the waistband material, such as by opening out the sleeve or pocket, in order to position one thickness of the material forming the one wall of the sleeve or pocket over the prongclenching anvil of the press, and this has required subsequent sewing up and forming of the sleeve or pocket. Also, it has not been satisfactory to attach the pronged fastening devices to "a waistband already sewn on to the trousers or other garment because of the subsequent reforming of the sleeve which is necessary.

The object of the present invention is to enable devices to be attached by use of a clenching press to a pocket or sleeve formed of flexible material without the necessity of the material being opened out, thus avoiding or reducing the amount of subsequent re-forming of the pocket or sleeve.

Another object of the invention is to permit of such attachment of the devices in a quick and expedious manner. According to the invention described in my afore said patent application, Ser. No. 592,094, a method of attaching, by means of a clenching press, devices carrying prongs or the like to the outside of a pocket or sleeve formed of flexible material, consists in inserting into the pocket or sleeve a mandrel carrying an anvil for clenching the prongs or the like, removably mounting the prong-carrying device on an operative member of the clenching press, and operating said press to cause the prongs or the like of the said device to penetrate the material of the pocket or sleeve from the exterior thereof and forcibly to co-operate with the anvil on the mandrel so as to be clenched or bent over, the latter operation being performed whilst the mandrel is rigidly supported by a supporting part beneath it.

Also, according to the invention described in the aforesaid patent application, a method of attaching, by means of a clenching press, the two parts of a two-part device respectively to the outside and the inside of a pocket or sleeved formed of flexible material, one part carrying prongs or the like for clenching to the other part, consists in supporting and locating the one part of the de- Patented Sept. 5, 1961 vice on a mandrel, inserting the mandrel with the said located part of the device into the pocket or sleeve, removably mounting the other part of the device on an operative member of the clenching press, and operating said press to cause the said operative part thereof to approach the mandrel and the prongs or the like on the one part of the device to penetrate the material of the pocket or sleeve and to be clenched or bent over between the mandrel, and the said operative part of the press, this last-named operation being performed whilst the mandrel is rigidly supported by a supporting part beneath it.

The present invention comprises means for carrying out the method set out in either of the two preceding paragraphs, said means including the mandrel, for use with the clenching press, insertable into the pocket or sleeve and having a clenching anvil and/or means for supporting and locating a part of a two-part device.

The mandrel is permanently carried by the press and provision is made to permit of relative movement between the mandrel and its supporting part before the prong-clenching operation of the press, so that the man- 'drel can beinserted into the pocket or sleeve. Thus, it may comprise a bar rigidly fixed at one end to the base or bed, or other part of the press, and carrying the prong-clenching anvil and/or the supporting and locating means at the other end, and part of the bed or base adapted to support the latter end during the prongclenching operation may be arranged to be horizontally or vertically movable with respect to the mandrel, being, for example, in the form of a horizontal or vertically slidable member.

The and/ or the means for supporting and locating a part of a two-part device may be disposed on the mandrel at such a distance from the outer end thereof that when the mandrel is inserted into the pocket or sleeve up to a closed end of the latter, the anvil and/or the part of a two-part device on the mandrel will be located in the correct desired position for the attachment of the device.

When the prongs are on a part of the device to be at"- tached to theoutside of the sleeve or pocket and are to be closed on to an apertured back-plate within the sleeve or pocket, the back-plate is placed over, and located on, the anvil carried by the mandrel, before the insertion of said mandrel into the sleeve or pocket. When the prongs are on the part of the device to be attached to the inside of the sleeve or pocket and are to be closed on to an apertured part of the device on the outside of the sleeve or pocket, the pronged part is placed on and located on the supporting mandrel before the latter is inserted into the sleeve or pocket. To retain the apertured back-plate, or the pronged part, as the case may be, on the mandrel during the insertion operation, the anvil part or supporting and locating part of the mandrel may be formed as 'a recess therein, having retaining walls or surrounding projections; also, the apertured back-plate or pronged part may be held in position by clip means or magnetic means.

A range of sizes of mandrels may be provided, or a, single mandrel may be adapted to be fitted with sleeves for altering its effective size, so that different sizes of pockets or sleeves can be readily dealt with.

An embodiment of the invention will be described, by way of example, in connection with the attachment of sheet-metal hook fastening members to trousers waistbands, where the waistband comprises essentially a rec-- tangnlar-shaped strip or band containing two thicknesses:

of cloth closed over at the outer ends and edges to terma closed-ended sleeve or pocket and which is stit'chedi around the waist portion of the trousers during the fink-- ing of the garment; and where the hook fastening meim bers carry integral attachment prongs. Such fastening members are attached by means of the prongs to the waistband, near to one of the closed ends of the latter, for detachable engagement with a corresponding staple or eye at the other end of the waistband. The prongs are adapted to be passed through the material of the waistband, from the front thereof, and through corresponding apertures in a sheet steel back-plate positioned on the underside of the material within the sleeve or pocket, the prongs being clenched or bent over on to the surface of the back-plate on the anvil of a clenching press.

There will also be described the application of the invention to the attachment to the outside of a pocket or sleeve of a hook member which is not provided with prongs, but which has apertures to receive prongs on a back-plate located inside the pocket or sleeve.

In the accompanying drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a clenching press, having a movable head part for holding the pronged hook fastening member, and provided with one form of anvilcarrying mandrel in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 shows, in perspective, the pronged hook fastening member and its associated back-plate.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section with the mandrel in a position for insertion into a sleeve or pocket.

FIGURE 4 is a part-sectional view showing the anvil part of the mandrel inserted into a trousers waistband "pocket and the pronged hook fastening member held in the head part of the clenching press, immediately prior to the prong-clenching operation of the latter.

FIGURE 5 is a part-sectional view similar to FIGURE 4 immediately after the prong-clenching operation.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a somewhat different clenching press in accordance with the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view through the mandrel and bed of the clenching press of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 8 shows in perspective a modified form of two-part hook-fastening device, and

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view, similar to FIGURE 4, but showing the modified fastener of FIGURE 8 being used.

Referring to the drawings, the clenching press shown in FIGURE 1 comprises a horizontal bed or base 1, and a head portion comprising a movable slide 2 carrying a holder 3 and which is adapted to carry the pronged hook member 4 of the fastening device (see FIGURE 2) with the prongs 5 of the latter presented towards the bed or base 1. On operation of the press, through a treadleactuated arm 6, the holder 3 is caused to move towards the bed or base so that the prongs 5 of the hook member 4 are caused to penetrate a thickness of intervening material and engage with the anvil 7. The hook member 4 is shown as being intended for use with an associated apertured back plate 8 (FIGURE 2), and the anvil 7 is adapted to carry and locate the latter, so that the prongs 5 pass through the apertures 9 therein and are clenched over on the face thereof by the shaped surface of the anvil 7.

Instead of the anvil 7 forming a part of, or being contained in, the bed or base 1, as is usual, in the embodiments of the present invention, it is formed by a recess 14 in a scparate flat steel plate or bar comprising a mandrel 10 adapted to be supported by, and located upon, the base or bed 1, and insertable into the pocket or sleeve of the waistband (indicated at 11, FIGURES 4 and 5) through a gap or opening left therein. This recess 14 is of a corresponding shape to the back-plate 8, and is formed with a surrounding retaining wall 15 (FIGURES 4 and 5) in which may be formed notches for receiving locating lugs or cars 17 on the back-plate 8 so that the latter may be correctly positioned and located.

The anvil-carrying end of the mandrel 10 is substantially rectangular in shape, corresponding to the size and shape of the interior of the waistband pocket 11, so that it may be inserted and fit closely therein with its free end 25 adjacent to the closed end of the pocket 11.

In attaching the hook fastening device, the pronged hook member 4 is first mounted in the holder 3 of the movable head part of the press, and the necessary backplate 8 is placed upon the anvil 7. As will be described in greater detail thereafter, the mandrel 10 is inserted into an opening left near the relevant end of the trousers waistband 11, and the latter is drawn over the mandrel so that the anvil 7 and back-plate 8 are correctly positioned near to the adjacent closed end of the waistband pocket or sleeve 11.

In the clenching operation the pronged hook member 4 is brought down by operation of the press (through the treadle arm 6), and the prongs 5 are caused to penetrate the waistband material and engage with the anvil 7 so as to be clenched over on to the back-plate 8, as shown in FIGURE 6. Then the waistband 11 together with the attached fastener may then be withdrawn from the mandrel.

The fastener is thus attached in a quick and efiicient manner and in a predetermined position on the waistband, and a minimum of sewing is subsequently required. The fastener may be attached to the made-up waistband before the latter is sewn to the trousers or, provided a small gap is left sufficient for the mandrel to be inserted, it may be readily attached when the waistband is already on the trousers.

It is not necessary to have the mandrel hingedly connected to the bed or base, so long as provision is made for relative movement between the anvil-carrying part and the bed to allow insertion of the latter into the sleeve or pocket and to ensure that during the prong-clenching operation it is supported by the bed or base and positively located. It will be understood that the mandrel 10 may be of any suitable shape, as desired.

In the embodiments of the invention, as indicated in the drawings, the mandrel 10 may comprise a bar or plate rigidly connected at its one end 38 to a part of the bed or base 1, and carrying the anvil 7 at its other end 42 which is adapted to be inserted into the pocket or sleeve of the waistband, and a supporting part of the bed or base may be movably mounted with respect to the mandrel. Thus, referring to FIGURE 7, the part of the bed or base 1 directly below the anvil 7 on the mandrel 10 comprises a separate block or cylinder 39 adapted to be raised or lowered within an aperture 40 in the main part of the bed or base by any suitable operating means, such as the illustrated wedge or cam means 41. The anvil-carrying end 42 of the mandrel 10 is spaced above the level of the surface of the main part of the bed or base, so that it can readily be inserted into the pocket or sleeve of the waistband. After this latter operation, the block or cylinder 39 is raised underneath the said end 42 of the mandrel so as to support the latter during the prong-clenching operation. This operation of the vertically-movable supporting part 39 may be brought about by a separate manual means 50, or it may be caused to occur automatically when the press is operated.

In the form incorporating a movable supporting part of the bed or base, which is shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 3, the mandrel 10 is rigidly mounted at the end 38 as in the last-described embodiment, but the part of the bed or base directly below the anvil 7 and the outer end 42 comprises a block 43 horizontally movable or slidable in a channel or guides 44 in the main part of the bed or base 1. For inserting this mandrel 10 into a pocket or sleeve, the movable block 43 is withdrawn to provide sufficient clearance for manipulation of the cloth, and then before the prong-clenching operation of the press, the block 43 is moved back under the anvil-earrying part 42 of the mandrel so as to provide support therefor.

As an alternative or additional means for retaining the steel back-plate on the anvil until the fastener is attached the steel mandrel in any of the difierent embodiments of the invention may be heavily magnetised.

The mandrel in any of the above described embodiments may be modified for use in attaching, to a pocket or sleeve formed of flexible material, twoapart fastening or other devices where one part carrying prongs or the like is adapted to be positioned within the pocket or sleeve, and the other part is adapted to be attached to the outside of the pocket or sleeve and has apertures for receiving the said prongs or the like of the firstnamed part after the latter have been caused to penetrate the material during the clenching operation. In this case, the mandrel is formed with a recess for holding and locating the pronged part and the other apertured part is held in a holder in the movable head part of the clenching press, the lower face of the holder being recessed and [forming the anvil for clenching over the prongs on to said apertured part.

A two-part hook fastening device having such a reversed arrangement of prongs is shown in FIGURE 8. The hook-carrying part 46 has apertures 47 corresponding in position to prongs 48 carried by the other part 49. In attaching this fastener to the pocketed part 11 of a trousers waistband, as shown in FIGURE 9, the pronged back-plate part 49 is seated in a recess 50 in the end of the mandrel 10, and the hook-carrying apertured part 46 is held in a holder 51 which is similar to the holder 3 previously shown but which is provided with an anvil recess 52 in its lower face 53.

It will be understood that the shape and size of the anvil-carrying part of the mandrel is preferably designed so as to fit closely within the pocket or sleeve being dealt with, and a range of different sizes and shapes of mandrel can be provided to suit different pockets or sleeves. Any of the forms of mandrel hereinbefore described may be detachably secured, by screws or bolts, for example, so that different size mandrels can be interchanged on the same press.

The herein described applications of the invention to the attachment of hook fastening devices to trousers waistbands will be understood to be by way of example only, and the invention has quite general application to the attachment of staples, eyes or any other devices or parts, carrying prongs or similar attachment means such as eyelets, to any pocketed or sleeve parts formed of flexible material.

Eyelets or eyelet-carrying parts may be attached in a similar manner to the prong-attached fastening devices herein described, the anvil being suitably modified to set the eyelet.

I claim:

1. Means for use in attaching, by means of a clenching press, a device carrying prongs or the like to a pocket or sleeve formed of flexible material, comprising in combination with a base of the press having a movable supporting part, a mandrel consisting of a plate rigidly mounted and located in the press and having one end, insertable into said pocket or sleeve and adapted to be supported during the clenching operation of the press by said movable supporting part of the base of the press.

2. Means, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable supporting part comprises a horizontally-slida-ble block supported by the bed or base of the press and adapted to be moved so as to support, on its top face, the mandrel.

3. Means for use in attaching by means of a clenching press, a device carrying prongs or the like to a pocket or sleeve formed of flexible material, comprising, in combination, a base of the press having a movable supporting part and associated operating means, a mandrel consisting of a plate rigidly mounted and located in the press and having one end insertable in said pocket or sleeve, said movable supporting part comprising a vertically-movable block within the base adapted to be raised by said operating means so as to engage and support the mandrel during the clenching operation of the press or to be lowered for permitting insertion of the mandrel into the pocket or sleeve prior to the clenching operation.

No references cited. 

